The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.
The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.
The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.
Where are you based when not performing?
Daniel Mobbs as Tell in Rossini's Guillaume Tell at the Caramoor International Music Festival Photo © by Gabe Palacio
My partner Vince and I live in center city Philadelphia.
What advice do you offer aspiring artists?
Don’t concentrate on “making it” because there is no “it”. A career goes up and down so many times, you just have to ride the ride.
Who are your biggest inspirations?
Beverly Sills for one. The American who was scrappy and long lasting in her many roles in the operatic world.
Where do you feel you delivered your strongest performance?
Every summer for 12 years I have had the pleasure to sing bel canto roles with the Caramoor International Music Festival. The most wonderful crowds and colleagues make for the best concerts I’ve ever done.
What is your dream role?
Just sang William Tell this summer at Caramoor which was a dream come true. In the future I would love to sing John the Baptist in Salome. I made my debut in this opera in a tiny part when I was 18, and have always dreamed of singing the leading baritone.
How long have you been working with opera?
This is my 20th season in the business.
What do you think makes Minnesota Opera unique from other companies?
The leadership here is unique in it’s closeness with the artists, the sweet and fun attitude of Floyd and Dale trickles down to all the staff here. Makes for a lot of fun at work, and a great product on stage.
If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring three things, what would they be?
A boat, a backup boat, and a captain.
What has been the most challenging piece you have worked on and why?
A piece called Dr. Faust, the last night by Pascal du Sapin at Spoletto. Terribly challenging music that took forever to learn. Made my brain hurt.
How has music changed your life?
One aspect of my career I love is introducing new people to the art form for the first time. People who never have gone to the opera come to hear me and they are really touched by opera.
Peter Rothstein (Director)Where are you based when not performing?
Minneapolis
What advice do you offer aspiring artists?
Do what you love; your passion will take you further than your talent.
Who are your biggest inspirations?
My teachers (too many to list here), young people discovering their love of performance, those who dare to create art despite the dangers or audacity of the act.
How long have you been working with opera?
College
What is your favorite Twin Cities destination?
The Lakes
How has music changed your life?
This impossible to answer, because I can’t imagine life without music.
If you had to choose a different field of work, what would you choose?
I’m quite certain I would succeed at nothing else, because I would always feel like I showed up at the wrong place.
What are your top three favorite operas?
The Tender Land, La Boheme, Péleas and Mélisande
Where are you based when not performing?
London, Ontario
What advice do you offer aspiring artists?
Don’t let anyone stop you.
Who are your biggest inspirations?
My parents, my Wife and my teachers.
Where do you feel you delivered your strongest performance?
When the police came to my door when I was 15. “Where did you get these 46 pink flamingoes we found on your ex-girfriend’s lawn”. I never had more clarity at any moment when I said “ Where did YOU get these 46 pink flamingoes”
What tends to be the most challenging element of performing?
Getting out of one’s own way.
What do you typically eat before a performance?
I eat early at about 3:30, chicken, rice and green beens.
What is your dream role? And why?
I love to sing Nemorino. I like to show the transition from “ Jerry Lewis to Dean Martin”. That is Jonathan Miller’s Idea and I buy it.
How long have you been working with opera?
Professionally since ’98.
What do you think makes Minnesota Opera unique from other companies?
Two things, the quality of the work and the organization itself. Top to bottom the people that work here are second to none.
What is your favorite Twin Cities destination?
Swimming the outdoor pool at the YMCA
More interviews and music clips at www.mnopera.org/watchlisten.
Where are you based when not performing?
Jacquelyn Wagner (soprano, Fiordiligi)
Berlin, DE
What advice do you offer aspiring artists?
First and foremost, really be brutally honest with yourself and find out if you can REALLY make it in the business, meaning if you will find work. I have seen too many artists really struggling, and it’s quite a sad thing! But, after that, work hard, take what you can, and by all means, only do it if you love it!
What is your favorite Twin Cities destination?
I haven’t had much time to explore the city, but I really love all the parks around here. The Stone Arch Bridge is also quite beautiful.
If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring three things, what would they be?
Never thought about it. I guess lots of water, my husband, and a piano.
What has been the most challenging piece you have worked on and why?
Probably a modern piece that I did in school but don’t remember what it was called anymore. But, that kind of rep isn’t a part of my normal rep, so I don’t have another answer than that.
How has music changed your life?
I’ve never been without it, so it’s so a part of my life that I don’t really know how it changed it. My dad is a musician so I really grew up with it. I guess it has helped identify me, and allowed me to express myself in a way that I can’t do with words and actions.
If you had to choose a different field of work, what would you choose?
Oh man, I think that I couldn’t really do much else. I’ve thought of that way too many times, and I’ve never come up with an answer. I would really have to do some soul searching for that!
Are you really as scandalous as they say you are?
Haha, you must be talking about someone else!
Is there any “haute” backstage gossip you would like to share from this or previous performances?
No. We don’t have any backstage gossip. Only goofing around!
What are your top three favorite operas?
Too difficult. Maybe top three composers? Strauss, Puccini, and Wagner
Nina Olsen, clarinet
What made you decide on a career in the arts?
I don’t know that anyone decides on a career as a performer. It’s more of a calling or a compulsion, and I feel fortunate that I have the opportunity to follow it.
How long have you been working with opera?
Since the Fall of 1989. My first production was a tour of Madam Butterfly through Iowa, Northern Michigan and South Dakota.
What do you think makes Minnesota Opera unique from other companies?
The (relative) intimacy of the Ordway, and the emphasis on Bel Canto and Contemporary operas.
What is your favorite Twin Cities destination?
The Opera pit at the Ordway.
What has been the most challenging piece you have worked on and why?
Nixon in China was the hardest technically, John Adams has high expectations of the clarinet section!
How has music changed your life?
Because music has always been a part of my life, I would say that it has defined a path rather than changed my life.
If you had to choose a different field of work, what would you choose?
I think being a NPR radio journalist would be interesting.
Are you really as scandalous as they say you are?
I am far more scandalous than most people know.
Besides opera, do you have any other favorite genres of music? What are some of your favorite artists from that genre?
My mother loved Pete Seeger and Mahalia Jackson, and I love musicals. Pete Seeger and Stephen Sondheim are my favorites.
Name your top five favorite movies.